1. Technical Field
The invention relates to box erectors and in particular to erectors for handling and setting up slotted boxes from a flat collapsed position to an open position ready for receiving articles therein. More particularly, the invention relates to such a method and apparatus for accurately positioning the collapsed slotted boxes in a magazine of the box erector, whereby the boxes are in correct position for subsequent movement and manipulation as they move along the actuating mechanisms of the box erector.
2. Background Information
The packaging industry utilizes today a vast number of boxes in which numerous products are packaged for subsequent shipment. Many of these boxes are referred to as slotted boxes or cases known as an RSC (regular slotted case) and are shipped to a packaging company as stacks of flat collapsed boxes for ease of handling and shipment. After arriving at the packaging company, the flat collapsed boxes are placed in a box erecting apparatus or erector, usually located immediately adjacent a packaging machine. These box erectors automatically remove the collapsed boxes individually from the magazine and by various mechanisms, move the boxes to an unfolded open position, immediately afterwhich the erector automatically moves a pair of minor and major closure flaps on the bottom of the box to a closed position so that the box upon reaching the end of the erector, is in a top open position so that the articles to be contained therein, can be inserted manually or automatically into the open top of the erected box. Examples of such prior art box handling and erecting equipment and apparatus are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,323,283, 4,398,381, 4,285,679, 4,079,573, 4,224,781, 4,437,851, 4,579,551 and 4,632,666.
These prior art box erectors usually provide some mechanism for removing one box at a time from the magazine, such as by vacuum operated suction cups, afterwhich the pulled box is either moved open or still in its folded position, to an unfold station where the box is unfolded and then moved to a closure station where the major and minor flaps are closed upon themselves and subsequently either sealed or held in the closed position for sealing, with the top flaps remaining open enabling articles to be conveniently placed in the box through the top opening.
It is critical for the proper operation of the box erector that the boxes when removed from the magazine, be in an exact position for subsequent movement by the appropriate conveying and carriage mechanisms of the erector to the next station, for subsequent manipulation. If the boxes are out of alignment when placed in the magazine, they will be incorrectly positioned preventing proper functioning of the erecting apparatus resulting in malfunction of the box erector and/or improper closure of the box flaps.
Heretofore the supply magazines are provided with adjusting mechanisms whereby an operator will raise and lower, and move horizontally sideways the magazine containing a supply of boxes until the box erector is properly operating. However, this involves setup and adjusting time, and operation of the erector through several cycles until the proper setting of the magazine is achieved. This becomes particularly troublesome when a number of different size boxes are fed through the erector throughout a work shift, requiring constant resetting of the machine for each different size box.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved apparatus and method for correctly and accurately positioning a plurality of collapsed slotted boxes in the supply magazine of a box erector to ensure that the supply of boxes is correctly positioned so that when the individual boxes are removed from the supply, they are in the correct position for subsequent manipulation and movement through the box erector.